Jealousy
by Eternal She-Wolf
Summary: It is not always easy to stand in the shadow of a prodigy. Even the most loving can sometimes be jealous. Edcentered, Fraternal EdAl, Fraternal RoyEd. Twoshot.
1. Al

I had this idea and wrote it during my Italian class. It's very short.

* * *

Alphonse loves his older brother. Truly. Without him he would be long dead. Even a half-life in a shell of armour is better than being dead. Away from his brother. He is used to people paying more attention to Edward han to him, because he is so brilliant. And Alphonse thinks his brother deserves every bit of it, and is sometimes not given his due. Because Alphonse admires his older brother.

But sometimes, there is, in Alphonse's heart, a tiny streak of jealousy.

Edward was always the best. Mum's favourite, because he looked like Dad. Alphonse looked more like her. She didn't need a mirror. She needed someone to remind her of her lost husband. And it was Ed, with his golden hair and alchemy. Even Teacher had a soft spot for him. Her eyes would soften when she looked at him.

He was the most clever, too. After all, he learnt to read on his own at three, then taught Al. It was he who calculated the formulae for their human transmutation. It was he who performed alchemy first.

He was even the most beautiful child. Huge golden eyes and pure gold hair. Al's was more yellow than gold, and his eyes were a duller sand color.

The Gate only took his leg, whereas it took all of Al's body. Even though Alphonse knows the Gate is not human, he still finds it disproportioned.

Edward is a genius. Alphonse is very talented, but he is nothing next to Edward. He can transmute without a circle, he passed the State Alchemsit exam at twelve. For all his brilliance, Alphonse is only an amateur next to Edward.

And that's why Alphonse is sometimes jealous of his brother.

But everytime he sits next to a hospital bed, next to Edward's limp form, and looks at his brother, battered and bruised from fights, automail connections, a wave of shame rolls over him. It's for him Edward does all this. And then Edward opens his eyes, and the first word he utters is his name, and Alphonse forgets to be jealous.

* * *

I know Al has gold hair in the manga, but I wanted to make him slightly different from Ed.


	2. Roy

Second part! Tada!

* * *

Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist, was considered one of the coolest and most charismatic officers of the military.

Or used to be, before Edward Elric walked in.

Roy had been considered an excellent alchemist. Admitted among the State Alchemists at twenty-two, his mastery of the flame was legendary. He was one of the youngest State Alchemist, and he was the Hero of Ishbal. Edward, after having taught himself to read, devoured at three the books Roy studied at twenty. He could transmute just about anything, without even drawing an array. _He_ was admitted at twelve.

Edward was brilliant. There was no other word for it, and it was weak. Child prodigy, genius, no of these words even began to describe Edward. He could calculate, design and draw arrays in the spur of a second to explain something, and he didn't even need them. Once, he casually broke through a code Roy had been working on for nearly a month. Exasperated, Roy had told him to either shut up or do it himself. Edward has shrugged and seized a pencil.

The message, written in Edward's messy scrawl, lay on Roy's desk by the end of the afternoon.

Roy had always been considered handsome, with a casual style and warm smile. His self-esteem had been crushed when he had overheard two secretaries as he passed with Edward in the corridor.

"He is stunning !"

"Who ? The black-haired Colonel ?"

"No, you idiot ! Not the old one, the amazing young blond guy !"

Edward had walked on, superbly oblivious to the remarks he suscited, as Roy's had been crest fallen.

Edward had never, never abandoned his goal. Neither had Roy, but Edward had never let something as trivial as physical laws or a whole army complete with manipulative Homonculi stand in his way. Edward gave a new definition to the word "stubborn". Roy felt almost small compared to that.

Sometimes, confronted to this child who just came along and took all that was his without even knowing, Roy feels the searing of jealousy.

It disappears when he sees Edward's automail or Alponse's armour, and he remembers, with a wave of shame, how much it has cost this child to become as he is.

* * *

I sometimes think Roy _must_ be jealous of Ed. There's no other way he could react.


End file.
